


He should be studying

by ChocolateAndRedbull



Category: Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Gen, Headaches & Migraines, Panic Attacks, Parent Tony Stark, Sick Peter, Sick Peter Parker, Sickfic, Stress Relief, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-19
Updated: 2020-05-19
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:27:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24278848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChocolateAndRedbull/pseuds/ChocolateAndRedbull
Summary: Tony knows too well the nightmare that is finals week.Hopefully he can make it just a little bit easier for the kid.
Relationships: Happy Hogan & Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 3
Kudos: 154





	He should be studying

He should be studying.

It’s all he can think about. 

It’s Friday afternoon and he’s sitting in his Spanish class, choosing to stare blankly at his notes rather than listen to his teacher. His headache had started when he woke up, and had steadily grown worse throughout the day, despite the Advil he’d fished out of his backpack at lunch. Peter scratched absentmindedly at the back of his head, trying to alleviate some of the pressure in his skull. He stretched his legs out with a yawn and blinked when his feet made contact with his weekend bag. Tony had asked him to spend the weekend at the compound, upgrading his suit and training with the team. Peter had been so excited to go and to finally feel like part of the real life Avengers, that he didn’t tell him that his finals started the following Wednesday. So Peter has been coming home from patrol early, 10:30pm rather than his usual midnight, and had been staying up until 2:30am to study for the past two weeks.

Peter woke that morning feeling more tired that he ever thought was possible, but couldn’t stay home from school for fear that Aunt May wouldn’t let him go to the compound.

Which in hindsight would probably be better for his education. 

And maybe his health.

He winced as the final bell rang and waited for the majority of his classmates to leave before he made a move to pack his stuff, knowing that fast movements would only make his headache worse. He slowly placed all of his notes back into his folder and swung his bag over his shoulder before finally heading towards the door to meet Happy where he was inevitably waiting on the street out front.

Happy took Peter’s bags and placed them in the trunk before opening the car door for the teenager and watching him climb inside. He immediately threw his head back, pressing the nape of his neck to the top of his spine, taking a slow breath as the throbbing in his head dulled slightly. Peter knew that Happy often just shut the divider in the car and took off, however they didn’t seem to be moving just yet.

Peter dropped his head to find Happy staring at him. 

“You alright, kid?”

“Uh-huh.”

“You look like crap.”

“Thanks.”

Happy chewed the inside of this cheek, trying to decide on his next move. “I’m just gonna let the boss deal with you.”

Peter watched as Happy put up the divider and, once he was alone, let his eyes slide shut and pressed the back of his head to the headrest.

——————————

He doesn’t remember dozing off but it seemed like a blink before the car was coming to a stop in the underground garage of the Avengers compound. He was annoyed with himself, he’d planned on going over some of his Spanish vocabulary on the ride up.

His head throbbed harshly when his eyes opened and he had to hold back a whimper as his vision blurred at the pain. He took a deep breath, wondering why the Advil he’d swallowed earlier wasn’t working. He didn’t have time to think anymore before Happy opened the car door, causing Peter to blink harshly at the sudden light. 

“He’s in the lab,” Happy said shortly as Peter grabbed his bag and made his way towards the elevator, ignoring the fact that he found himself having to blink more often to keep his vision in focus.

As the elevator shot upwards towards the Lab, Peter tried to figure out at what point that night he would get to look over his chemistry notes. 

And his physics notes. 

And his Spanish vocab.

Shit.

The loud music blasting from all four corners of the room made Peter cringe, as well as the overwhelming smell of motor oil, but he never expected anything different from Tony’s lab.

Tony was laid out on a desk, his head under the suspended Iron Man suit which was open at the back. 

“Kid, hand me that wrench there,” Tony called, voice muffled by the the suit. 

Peter crossed the room and grabbed the wrench before placing it in Tony’s outstretched hand. 

Peter watched the man as he worked, occasionally handing him tools and parts as he needed them. This went on for a half hour, which was passed by Peter almost counting the throbs in his head that struck him each passing second.

As time moved on, Tony left Peter to work on his own suit, fixing the short circuiting wires which were giving him tiny electric shocks underneath his left armpit as he swung through the city.

Peter rubbed at his eyes as he glanced at the clock, trying to gauge how long he would have to stay up to adequately cover all his notes. His head throbbed harshly, causing his vision to blur and he held the soldering iron away from the suit, not wanting to ruin any circuits. He took a calming breath as he tried to get the pain in his head under control.

He doesn’t have time for this. 

He’s should to be studying. 

His head throbbed again and the sound of his own voice surprised him. “Mr Stark?”

Tony looked up from his circuit board towards the kid and immediately dropped his screwdriver and crossed the room to his desk. Pale-faced and dizzy is not a good look on him. “Kid?” he said cautiously.

Peter swayed slightly as his vision swam. Why was his chest feeling so tight? He doesn’t have time for this.

He should be studying.

Peter tried to catch his breath, “Uh, can you- can you hold this? I jus- I just, uh...” he pushed the soldering iron into Tony’s hands and stumbled away, heading vaguely for the bathroom. He head pounded and he whimpered through his shaky breaths and once inside the small bathroom he immediately pressed his back to the wall and slid to the ground, curling around himself as the pain in his head worsened. 

His chest tightened and he couldn’t take a full breath. What was happening? It’s just a headache, Peter, breathe. Breathe.

“Kid?” 

Peter jumped and wrapped his arms further around his head. “I- I can’t-“ 

“It’s okay, Pete, it’s alright, you don’t have to. Just take your time and ride it out.”

The pounding in Peter’s head was now one continuous feeling of pain pressing against the back of his skull.

Tony watched as the kid pressed his fists tight against the back of his head and it immediately clicked what was happening. Tony gently pulled the boy’s hands away from his head and grimaced as he writhed in pain beneath his hands. Tony pressed his own thumbs firmly against the back of Peter’s head and watched him partially relax to focus more on catching his breath. 

Tony quietly tried to calm him down, not wanting to overwhelm the boy’s heightened senses as he hummed quietly. Peter’s breaths came rushed and short but he didn’t seem to be panicking anymore. “Alright, kid, take it slow, just breathe, you’re over the worst of it now.”

Peter whimpered as his head continued to throb. 

“Keep breathing, buddy, you’ll need a drink, I’ll go get your water bottle,” Tony said, moving to get up.

“I- I didn’t get a chance to fill it this morning,” Peter breathed.

“Well that certainly didn’t help anyways,” Tony murmured. “I’ll go get you a drink and maybe something to calm that headache.”

Peter didn’t respond, just continued to sit on the floor and threw his head back as far as he could, braving the uncomfortable position for the slightly dulled ache in his head.

“Take these,” Tony’s voice came from beside him. 

Peter shook his head. “They- uh, they don’t work on me.”

“These will, trust me,” Tony said pointedly, and with a desperate glance Peter took the pills and swallowed them with a wince.

“Give them a few minutes, buddy,” Tony soothed, “and finish that bottle for me and we can go lay down.”

“I- I’m fine, really, Mr Stark,” he mumbled, “just need a minute and then we can get back to work.”

“Kid, if I broke your leg right now and then asked you to get up and go for a run would that be fine?” Tony asked him.

Peter avoided eye contact.

“No,” Tony stated, happy that his point had gotten across. “We’re gonna go upstairs and you’re gonna take a nap.”

“I-I need to study...” Peter said weakly.

“Kid,” Tony said incredulously, “You’re the smartest kid I’ve ever met. Your GPA is, what? 3.7?”

“3.9,” Peter mumbled.

“3.9,” Tony stated, “and you’re also working a part-time job of being a damn superhero. You’re not gonna pass any of your tests if you’re overworked. When’s your finals? Huh? Couple of weeks?”

Peter mumbled under his breath.

“Didn’t quite catch that, buddy,”

“Wednesday.”

Tony stopped. Of course they were. 

“Pete, you could’ve said something. Something like ‘Oh hey, Mr. Stark, can’t work tonight, finals week ahead, rain check?’”

Peter squirmed under his gaze. “It’s just that- that I really like it here and I thought if I canceled, then maybe you’d think I wasn’t that interested...”

Tony patted the kid’s back. “Let’s go for that nap, eh buddy? And then when you wake up, you can have the board room for the entire weekend to study, and until your exams are over. And when they’re done-“ Tony reached out a hand to help pull the kid up, “You can come over and we’ll spend the entire break working, sound good?”

Peter waited for the head rush of standing up too quickly pass before nodding. 

“Good. Now, how’s your head? Feeling any better?” 

Peter nodded, rubbing absentmindedly at the back of his neck and grabbing his water bottle. “Thanks, Mr Stark.” 

“Anytime, Pete, I mean it.”


End file.
